{"id":13737,"date":"2024-01-25T18:03:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T18:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-zeppelin.ro\/en\/?p=13737"},"modified":"2024-01-25T18:28:37","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T18:28:37","slug":"complexity-and-care-the-amal-amjahid-centre-molenbeek%e2%80%91saint%e2%80%91jean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-zeppelin.ro\/en\/complexity-and-care-the-amal-amjahid-centre-molenbeek%e2%80%91saint%e2%80%91jean\/","title":{"rendered":"Complexity and Care. The Amal Amjahid Centre,\u00a0Molenbeek\u2011Saint\u2011Jean"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Late December on a canal embankment, in a rarely praised neighbourhood. The complex, named after an exceptional Brussels-born sportswoman, does not shout its presence. However, upon entering, I have found a magical and complex world, welcoming athletes, toddlers, teenagers or simply neighbours who use its gallery as a shortcut.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Text: Ștefan Ghenciulescu<\/strong>
\nPhoto: Jeroen Verrecht, Laurian Ghinițoiu, Corentin Haubruge , &bogdan<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Molenbeek has many beautiful buildings and places, but it is definitely not a <\/span>tourist<\/span><\/span> neighbourhood<\/span><\/span>. The former village was turned into a workers’ suburb in the 19th and <\/span>early<\/span><\/span> 20th<\/span><\/span> century, with humble houses and many factories. After the war, it has undergone a deep<\/span> deindustrialization and crisis, accompanied by the building of social housing complexes, <\/span>with<\/span><\/span> massive<\/span><\/span> migration, especially from Northern Africa.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nowadays, the municipality (Brussels is in fact a region, made of 19 municipalities) is a place <\/span>of<\/span><\/span> social<\/span><\/span> disparities and exclusion, of conflicts and scarce social equipment. Revitalisation <\/span>and<\/span><\/span> inclusion<\/span><\/span> programs vary from facilitating the installation of company headquarters, to <\/span>erecting<\/span><\/span> buildings<\/span><\/span> for vital public equipment. <\/span><\/span>As empty plots are so rare, any opportunity is exploited to a maximum and there is an attempt <\/span>to<\/span><\/span> solve<\/span><\/span> as many needs as possible in one shot. This is also the case here. Along the canal <\/span>stretches<\/span><\/span> a<\/span><\/span> former industrial area. 40% of it is public property, which explains the recent strategic <\/span>projects.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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$\"02_B_Canal$ <\/a>©Jeroen Verrecht<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Within<\/span><\/span> strict height limits, a relatively small plot had to accommodate a gym, a boxing club, <\/span>a<\/span><\/span> space<\/span><\/span> for quieter sports, a kindergarten, a cafeteria, and an administrator’s apartment. <\/span><\/span>There was thus a need to cram and pacify functions with radically different users, with <\/span>precise<\/span><\/span> and<\/span><\/span> sometimes contradictory demands. All this was accompanied by the need for <\/span>generous<\/span><\/span> reception<\/span><\/span> and distribution spaces, open towards the city, and, in general, for creating a dignified,<\/span> friendly, and inclusive place. <\/span><\/span>The competition brief also asked for two underground levels of parking. The architects <\/span>managed<\/span><\/span> to<\/span><\/span> persuade the client to give them up, as the proximity of the canal makes for bad quality terrain.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"03_A_Canal$ <\/a>©Jeroen Verrecht<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Street, the Congestion, the Habitable Beam<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The immediately visible architectural gesture is the entrance gallery. It crosses the building <\/span>and<\/span><\/span> the<\/span><\/span> block and, over a considerable part of its length, is raised to the entire available height: a <\/span>true<\/span><\/span> interior<\/span><\/span> street, continuing the urban fabric and accommodating the horizontal and <\/span>vertical<\/span><\/span> circulations<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"4-05_Galerie$ <\/a>*0 level. Gallery – interior street, looking towards the main entrance and the sports hall. ©Jeroen Verrecht<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It is open to everyone for most of the day and it has a spectacular character, due to <\/span>a<\/span><\/span> monumental<\/span><\/span> succession of staircases, light and connections with the rest of the spaces. <\/span>The<\/span><\/span> exposed<\/span><\/span> concrete is not just an aesthetic choice, but also a sustainable one for an urban <\/span>place<\/span><\/span> crossed<\/span><\/span> by a lot of people.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"10_A_Galerie$ <\/a>*Nivelul +1. Galerie și curte interioară ©Jeroen Verrecht<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The gallery’s trapezoidal footprint forces perspective and highlights the opening as you <\/span>walk<\/span><\/span> through<\/span><\/span> it. At the same time, it takes over the plot’s various angles, allowing the <\/span>accommodation<\/span><\/span> of<\/span><\/span> most functions in rectangular <\/span>spaces.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

$\"P03_0118QDC-T-Plans-0\"$ <\/a>*Ground floor (level 0) plan. Interior gallery (“Giants’ gallery”), void over the sports hall, cafeteria, administration<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

$\"06_A_AmalAmjahid-IsometryDetailed-Landscape\"$ <\/a>*axonometry<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span><\/span> generous space dedicated to the gallery puts even more pressure on the rest of the building,<\/span> where the overlapping of main functions is unavoidable. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"08_AB_SeparateFunctions-detailed-EN-1$ <\/a>*Superposition of functions<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n

In order to increase the <\/span>available<\/span><\/span> volume<\/span><\/span>, construction expands towards the basement. But this creates a contradiction. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"P02_AmalAmjahid-Plan-Level-1\"$ <\/a>*<\/em>-1 level plan. Sports hall<\/em> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All <\/span>the<\/span><\/span> functions<\/span><\/span> need natural light, first and foremost the kindergarten, then the small sports functions,<\/span> the administration and apartment, and, finally the great sports hall. This is pretty much how <\/span>the<\/span><\/span> gradation<\/span><\/span> for the need of protection and intimacy looks like—very high for the toddlers <\/span>and<\/span><\/span> administrator’s<\/span><\/span> apartment, increasingly lower for the other programs. Hence the natural <\/span>and<\/span><\/span> obvious<\/span><\/span> choice of a stacking where, as you go up, you should find the spaces with the <\/span>greatest<\/span><\/span> need<\/span><\/span> for light and protection. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But this contradicts the normal logic of the structure. As any student in architecture learns, if <\/span>you<\/span><\/span> need<\/span><\/span> to overlap a large space, which cannot be structurally split, with smaller ones, <\/span>where<\/span><\/span> partitioning<\/span><\/span> is not an issue, you will position the latter under, not on top of the major one. Thus,<\/span> the coverage system which already must support large spans, will not also have to bear <\/span>the<\/span><\/span> weight<\/span><\/span> of the other levels, the inherent problem of pillars or bearing walls standing atop <\/span>a<\/span><\/span> beam<\/span><\/span> or an arch etc. This is implacable logic, whether applied to gyms, concert halls, <\/span>etc.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span><\/span> very smart solution here does not overlap structural systems, but integrates spaces <\/span>and<\/span><\/span> structures<\/span><\/span>. A series of solid concrete walls is supporting four large trusses. The <\/span>kindergarten’s<\/span><\/span> two<\/span><\/span> levels find their place in the space defined by the trusses; thus, structure becomes <\/span>an<\/span><\/span> inhabited<\/span><\/span> space. These trusses then serve to suspend the level shared by the boxing club and <\/span>the<\/span><\/span> multifunctional<\/span><\/span> gym. The sports hall starts under this suspended level and goes deep into <\/span>the<\/span><\/span> ground<\/span><\/span>. Its height also provides lateral lighting.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"07_A_copyright_laurianghinitoiu_amal_bvb$ <\/a>*Nivelul -1. Sala de sport. ©Laurian Ghinițoiu<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Gaps and Cross-Connections<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Neither the kindergarten, nor the sports spaces need the entire space between and under <\/span>the<\/span><\/span> trusses<\/span><\/span>. In between the trusses, at the first level of the kindergarten, there remains place for <\/span>the<\/span><\/span> small<\/span><\/span> apartment, but also for a central interior courtyard, suspended above the grand hall. <\/span>The<\/span><\/span> courtyard<\/span><\/span> brings light and air to the building’s core and allows the free air practice of <\/span>sports<\/span><\/span> without<\/span><\/span> a ball. Upper-level functions are organised in two wings around the courtyard, which <\/span>is<\/span><\/span> also<\/span><\/span> bordered by circulations and services. At the upper level of the kindergarten, the trusses <\/span>also<\/span><\/span> support<\/span><\/span> a suspended playground.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The garden, the central courtyard, and the gallery enrich the space structure and allow for <\/span>cross<\/span><\/span> relationships<\/span><\/span> between the floors. Diagonals of light and sight pierce the building’s mass, <\/span>make<\/span><\/span> the<\/span><\/span> interior look bigger than it actually is, and are fatefully combined with the smaller, calmer areas.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\t